Path of Exile 2 Hits Version 1.0 on December 11: Shadow, Duelist and a New League

Path of Exile 2 finally has a date for shedding its work-in-progress label. As reported by Gamereactor España, Grinding Gear Games confirmed at ExileCon 2026 that early access will end on December 11, 2026, after a two-year run. Version 1.0 is more than a simple number change: it brings two new classes, the missing stretch of the campaign and a launch league.

It matters because this is the moment the ARPG stops asking for patience and starts being judged as a finished product. For those who have spent two years testing builds on an incomplete foundation, and for those who were waiting for the full release to jump in, December marks the real starting point: a complete campaign, more archetypes to choose from and a league that puts everyone on the same starting line.

What you need to know

• Date: version 1.0 releases on December 11, 2026, ending two years of early access.
• Two new classes: the Shadow and the Duelist, unveiled at ExileCon.
• Complete campaign: Acts Five and Six close out the story, with a return to Oriath and beyond.
• New league: Conquerors of Wraeclast, built around raising a base and recruiting armies.
• Factions: you have to choose between three sides: Karui, Ezomyte or Marraketh.

Two classes with a classic flavor

Both additions aim straight at the nostalgia of players coming from the first game. The Shadow is all about daggers, stealth and traps, with shadow clones that fight at your side. The Duelist, meanwhile, is the swordsman the community had been requesting for a long time, and arrives with some highly requested skills in tow.

On top of that come Acts Five and Six, which complete the campaign and bring the action back to Oriath. It is the content that was missing for the leveling journey to finally be the definitive one.

Conquerors of Wraeclast: your castle, your army

The launch league revolves around base building. The idea is to recruit troops and raise a castle, making use of more than 70 points of interest scattered throughout the campaign to hire new types of soldiers. In other words, the league is not confined to the endgame: it is woven into the campaign from the very start.

The most eye-catching detail is the commanders, who can run maps on your behalf and turn gold into atlas progress and loot. The source compares it to Kingsmarch, the system from the original game. Added to this is the choice between three factions (Karui, Ezomyte or Marraketh), although the information available does not detail what each one entails.

Our take

Here at the Underworld Lordz newsroom, we see this as a launch with the right ingredients. Cyclone, traps and Blade Vortex are not just any names: they are playstyles with years of history behind them, and bringing them back is a smart way to win over the veterans who were still eyeing the sequel with suspicion. For anyone who competes in league races, two new classes and two brand-new acts also mean routes to discover and a meta that nobody has figured out on day one. That is gold.

Our doubts lie with the commanders. A system that plays maps for you and turns gold into progress can be a great complement, or it can blur the value of playing well. If passive progress carries too much weight, skill takes a back seat to management, and in a competitive environment that shows. It will all come down to balance, and we will not know that until we have the game in our hands.

For content creators, on the other hand, the outlook could not be better: class guides, campaign routes, faction comparisons and castle optimization add up to weeks of streams and videos. That said, after two years of early access, 1.0 no longer gets the excuse that the game is still in development. It is going to be held to the standard of a finished title, and we think that is fair.

What do you think?

We want to know how you are going to approach the launch: whether you are going with the Shadow or the Duelist, which faction tempts you, and whether the commanders strike you as a good idea or a dangerous shortcut. Drop by the team chat or our Discord and tell us: which class are you starting with on December 11?